SDCL § 22-46-9

Vulnerable adult abuse — mandatory reporting

This South Dakota statute requires specified professionals—including healthcare providers, mental health professionals, counselors, and law enforcement personnel—to report known or suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of elders or adults with disabilities within 24 hours to the state's attorney, the Department of Human Services, or law enforcement. Failure to make the required report is a Class 1 misdemeanor. A reporter is exempt if they know another person has already reported the same incident to a proper agency.

SDLRC - Codified Law 22-46-9 - Mandatory reporting of abuse, neglect, or exploitation--Violation as misdemeanor. 
22-46-9
. 
Mandatory reporting of abuse, neglect, or exploitation--Violation as misdemeanor.
Any:
(1) Physician, dentist, doctor of osteopathy, chiropractor, optometrist, podiatrist, religious healing practitioner, hospital intern or resident, nurse, paramedic, emergency medical technician, social worker, or any health care professional;
(2) Psychologist, licensed mental health professional, or counselor engaged in professional counseling; or
(3) State, county, or municipal criminal justice employee or law enforcement officer; 
who knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect, that an elder or adult with a disability has been or is being abused, neglected, or exploited, shall, within twenty-four hours, report such knowledge or suspicion orally or in writing to the state's attorney of the county in which the elder or adult with a disability resides or is present, to the Department of Human Services, or to a law enforcement officer. Any person who knowingly fails to make the required report is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
A person described in this section is not required to report the abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an elder or adult with a disability if the person knows that another person has already reported to a proper agency the same abuse, neglect, or exploitation that would have been the basis of the person's own report.
 
Source:
 SL 2011, ch 119, § 1; SL 2016, ch 120, § 22; SL 2016, ch 128, § 1; SL 2017, ch 230 (Ex. Ord. 
17-1
), § 24, eff. Apr. 13, 2017.